Recipe: The Best Buttery Dinner Rolls (2024)

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This is our all-time favorite best Buttery Dinner Rolls recipe made with instant yeast in your bread machine or by hand. This is definitely a staple for holidays and family dinners in our house!

Like many young people, who leave the nest and head off to college, I gained the “Freshman Fifteen”. I can pinpoint my extra pounds to one thing… it certainly wasn’t from the not so great dorm food. It wasn’t even because I partied hard and consumed my calories in beer. Just about every single extra pound came from the most delicious, fluffy, buttery soft dinner rolls at the restaurant where I waitressed.

I think I have bad eating habits now…when I was in college my eating habits were pretty awful. The restaurant I worked at had a bakery with these giant dinner rolls that were served fresh from the oven, with loads of melted butter dripping off the golden brown tops. The aroma of the homemade rolls wafted through the restaurant and man… it was impossible to resist. On my short breaks, I would always grab a roll (or a couple) to quickly snarf down so I could get back to my tables.

Homemade bread, especially homemade rolls, has always been my weakness.

As soon as I had a home and kitchen of my own, I decided to try and perfect making the rolls from my college days. I scoured the internet for the perfect homemade dinner rolls recipe and finally came upon an easy recipe that seemed very doable. I loved that I could use my bread machine to make the dough or I could use my stand mixer with a dough hook to make the process easier as well.

This Buttery Dinner Roll Recipe is from Food.com and is one I’ve been using for the past 10 years for our family Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts. It is simply the best dinner roll recipe I’ve ever tried so I haven’t felt the need to stray too far looking for anything better. In fact,I really really love these other yeast bread recipes, but this recipe I’m sharing today is the one my family begs for the most.

What Type of Yeast Should I Use When Making Dinner Rolls?

Red Star Yeast recently launched a revolutionary yeast they have called “Platinum Superior Baking Yeast“. They sent me some to try out and I am so amazed! Each loaf of bread I’ve made using this yeast has risen and yielded the most amazing loaves of bread. From the Red Star Yeast website: “This simple-to-use yeast strengthens and improves your dough, increasing oven spring and finished volume of any recipe.” I love this yeast for bread baking perfection, but you can use any other active dry yeast as well.

I know so many of you might be scared of working with yeast but trust me. Yeast wary friends can rejoice as this yeast seems to be the no fail answer to your bread baking prayers! You can feel comfortable knowing that with this recipe, you’ll produce some of the best yeast rolls without a lot of effort the very first time. It’s a great beginner recipe and one that you’ll keep forever and ever.

What Equipment Does This Recipe Require?

The following list may contain affiliate links where if a purchase is made we’d earn a small amount at no additional cost to you.

For best results, the following equipment is recommended when making this dinner rolls recipe:

Automatic Bread Machine With a Dough Setting OR…
Stand Mixer With a Dough Hook
Large Bread Board
9×13 Glass Baking Dish
Silicone Basting Brush for Melted Butter
Cute Apron so you aren’t covered in flour

If you decide to use your bread machine for this recipe, it’s best to simply follow the instructions for the order of ingredients from your ABM’s manufacturer.

Here Are Some Ideas for Additional Items To Serve

I personally think there’s nothing better than soft and fluffy dinner rolls and would be happy to call this dinner. However I know not everyone is as bread obsessed as I am. For additional recipes to make your table complete, check out these links:

Oven Roast Turkey Breast by The Flavor Bender
Broccoli Salad from Belly Full
Banana Cream Pie from Dine & Dish
Cheesecake Fat Bomb from Oh My Sugar High

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family has and it becomes one you make time and time again! Enjoy!

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5 from 1 vote

The Freshman Fifteen {Recipe: The Best Buttery Dinner Rolls}

The best buttery dinner roll recipe around. Bread Machine version can be found on this post Original recipe can be found at Food.com

Ingredients

1 cup water plus
1 tablespoon water 70-80 F
1 large egg
4 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 1/4 cups bread flour
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons shortening optional

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients, minus the shortening and butter, in the bowl of your stand mixer in the order listed in the ingredients. Knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.
Once dough has risen, remove from bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Shape into 15 uniformed sized balls (you may have to have shortening on your hand as you do this to keep from sticking)
Lightly butter a 9x13 baking pan. Place rolls onto baking pan, cover and let rise until double in size (approximately 30 minutes).
Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until a light, golden brown.
After removing from the oven, brush with melted butter. Serve warm.